Ray: Greg Anthony in the postgame praised Coach Pitino for a fabulous job in the NCAA final. I
believe he really meant that John Beilein got outcoached!

With Spike Albrecht making everything inside 30 feet in the first half, I knew Beilein would
bring back Trey Burke to lose the game and he did! That 1-4 offense with Burke breaking down the
defense might work against Northwestern, but not an athletic Louisville! They ate him up!

I saw Burke play at least 10 times this year and I’m sure in those games he didn’t make 40
percent of his shots! Good player, yes. National player of the year, are you kidding?

OSU has a bright future against the Blew with Urban and Thad up against Behind and Hokey!

— Mike Nash, Westerville

Editor: Rick Pitino says that he is keeping his promise to his players to get a tattoo — a
promise he used to inspire them to win the NCAA Tournament.

Let’s hope that none of them sell their championship rings to pay for it.

— Roy Lawrence, Palmetto, Fla.

Ray: Three hundred words on page 9 the day before the greatest golf event of the year?
Meanwhile, on page 1, another story on Braxton Miller’s potential. In April. Zzzzzzz.

— Tony Matthews, Columbus

Ray: Some folks have no appreciation and obviously no knowledge how to manage or coach a
high-level basketball program. Thad Matta has been highly successful everywhere he's coached, OSU
included. Many fans have to be amazed and bewildered how anyone can possibly question Matta's
leadership.

The loss to Wichita State is no embarrassment. Anyone watching their tournament run knows
Wichita State played way above a No. 9 seed. I would say Wichita State has one sure-fire NBA
prospect in Early, while OSU's probably doesn't have anyone near that level currently on their
roster this past season, including Thomas.

Wichita's performance against Louisville should make that point mute. As I write to you
before the final game, I feel confident Louisville will dominate Michigan in the final game.

Buckeye fans need to count their blessings we have a proven winner who can recruit, coach and
bring high quality young men to the program.

— John Wider, Newark

Editor: I never really knew of a connection between Carroll, Ohio, and Los Angeles until last
week's letters. I guess l know now. Thad is "lucky over the last few years,” and " does so-so in
the tournament.” Really? Are these folks watching the same games I am?

As a lifelong Buckeye basketball fan, these statement border on ridiculous. I am not going to
use this space to recite Coach Matta's well-documented conference and tournament records. I would,
however, speculate that there isn’t one major school in the country who wouldn’t come calling if he
would ever become available.

Hopefully, baseless comments like these don’t help facilitate that. I also hope and predict
that responses similar to this overload your Mailbox this week. Thad’s program, staff, players and
professionalism are things that would should all embrace, not ridicule.

This is one Buckeye fan who is thrilled to have Coach Matta here and hopefully that is for a
very long time.

— Ross Chambers, Pickerington

Editor: Dear Darryl Geewax and James Shackelford (Mailbox, last Sunday), thank you for
proving me correct. Recently I was watching some tournament games with a friend and we were
discussing how lucky we were as Ohio State fans to have a coach as great as Thad Matta. I told my
friend that there were actually people out there that didn't think Matta was that great of a coach.
He didn't believe me. Your letters are my proof that you people really do exist.

Here are some of the facts we discussed that night. In nine seasons at Ohio State coach Matta
has won a share of the Big Ten five times (second only to Fred Taylor with seven.) He has reached
the Big Ten tournament final in seven of the last eight seasons and won it four times. He owns the
highest winning percentage at Ohio State in the last century.

He has taken his team to the NCAA tournament every year that they were eligible except for
2008 when they won the NIT (Ohio State has only made the NCAA 25 times since 1939, seven with
Matta.) In his nine seasons the Buckeyes have made two Final Fours, four Sweet Sixteens, and one
national-title game. He has had seven players taken in the first round of the NBA draft, and all
are active players except for Greg Oden.

All of those players left early, most after one year. Matta keeps reloading. The only thing
he hasn't done is win a national title which has only happened once at Ohio State. As The Dispatch
recently pointed out, this is not typical behavior for a basketball coach at a football school. It
just doesn't happen.

Congratulations to coach Matta and the 2012-2013 Ohio State basketball team on yet another
strong season. You have clearly set the bar at a new level.

— Travis Coyle, Grandview Heights

Editor: What the world is wrong with some Ohio State fans? There are 64 teams in the NCAA
Tournament plus all the teams in the NIT along with many teams who made neither tournament. How can
anyone in their right mind and who really is an Ohio State fan not rejoice at Coach Matta taking
our team to the Elite Eight this year and Final Four last year?

Matta is a great recruiter and a great coach. With all the teams in the country you cannot
expect him to win each year or even to take them to the heights they have been too the last few
years. If you have any complaints at all, it should be why did Ohio State let Trey Burke get away.
Possibly because of Craft, but it certainly would be nice to have both of them.

If you can't say something nice about our beloved Bucks, you should not say anything.

— Norman G. Kirkendall, Columbus

Ray: I was astounded by the critics of Coach Matta in last week’s Mailbox. I don’t know what
their expectations were going into this season, but I don’t know many who thought OSU would have a
shot at even getting to the round of 16 after losing Sullinger to the NBA.

Good grief. He coached them further along than most folks thought they were capable of, which
to me is the sign of an excellent coach. I’m glad we’ve got him!

— Don Wallick, Columbus

Editor: I couldn’t believe all of the negative comments about Thad Matta in last week’s
Mailbox. In the nine years he has been coaching at OSU, he has won the regular season title five
times, the Big Ten tournament title four times and has gotten to the Final Four twice. No other Big
Ten has done that well during that time period.

— Philip Vanik, Dublin

Editor: Ohio State has superior talent. Period. If they don't, well, Matta recruits his
players and develop his players. So this falls back on the coach.

Amir Williams, Shannon Scott and Deshaun were all McDonald's All Americans, Ross was ranked
13th in his class and Sam Thompson was top 50. Plus Craft and Lenzelle. That's a pretty talented
team. I'm leaving out Sullinger’s two years and the Oden/Conley teams that were grossly mismanaged,
too.

We need to expect more. The “roll the ball out and go get ’em” style doesn’t work. OSU should
have two titles by now. This year’s team did a masterful job and played with great heart. That’s
attributed to the players themselves. With a little game-planning, in-game adjustments and coaching
strategy they could have met OSU goals.

I am an OSU fan and I bet Matta is a really nice person but as in life and in sports it’s
about accountability. This year’s team was coached in a mediocre fashion. The school is great, the
players are great but the coaching wasn’t. OSU should expect titles and Final Fours.

Ray, I’m glad you are satisfied with a second-place finish and an Elite Eight appearance. Do
you think second in Big Ten and a Capitol One Bowl appearance would be OK in football?

— James Shackelford, Carroll

Ray: Thank you to Bob Hunter for recognizing in (April 5) Rumblings the fact Coach John
Cooper has yet to be inducted into OSU's "Varsity O" Hall of Fame. He is already in the
College Football and Rose Bowl HOFs.

It is time the university does the right thing and honor a man who was an outstanding coach,
prepared a lot of players for the NFL, and accomplished all of this by running a clean program.

— Rich Haskins, West Jefferson

Editor: A true Buckeye fan now living in Naples, Fla. I was having my hair cut in Naples in a
shop that advertised: Ohio State fan hair cuts — $25! My story involves the 1978 Gator Bowl game
where Woody Hayes threw a punch at Charlie Bauman causing his dismissal as coach.

The man seated in the chair next to mine asked, "Who remembers the name of the player Woody
hit that caused his being fired during the '78 Gator Bowl?" I said, "I don't remember his name,
why?" He then explained, "He hit my son-in-law, my only problem with that is: he didn't hit him
hard enough!"

Small world, but great to be a Buckeye fan!

— Bert Heyder, Naples, Fla.

Editor: Against Wichita State, the Buckeyes looked flat, unmotivated and not ready to play
such a big game. Does Matta know how to throw a chair?

— Harry Gardner, Reynoldsburg

Editor: Aren’t the Cubs games worth at least one paragraph in the “Around Baseball” column?
After all, many Cubs games are seen locally on cable and the team has some following here. The
Dispatch rarely carries more than a score.

— Al Orton, Columbus

Editor: The NCAA gets $800 million per season for the rights to broadcast March Madness, and
the president of the NCAA will not release his salary.

ESPN analysts make upwards from $500,000 to $1.5 million.

Coaches like Rick Pitino make $5.7 million and stand to get a $425,000 bonus this season.

The referees get a minimum of $1,000 for regular NCAA games and more for the playoffs.

The college basketball players get how much?

ECONOMIC SLAVERY.

— Jimmy Ryan, Canal Winchester

Ray: Why no PGA or LPGA Tour golf scores in the Sunday paper? Also, why the cut back (this
has been a while) of only showing the top 10 or so? I spend a lot of business around the country
and other papers show down to the cut line.

No golf scores today has to be a first, especially in the Sunday Edition..

— Mike McBride, via email

Ray: Could you explain why Michael Hartfield of the Ohio State track team breaking the 77
year old record of Jesse Owens in the long jump last week end at the Texas Relays was not mentioned
in the Dispatch? OK, it's not buckeye football, but in the world outside, track and field is still
an Olympic sport and Jesse Owens is perhaps the most well known athlete ever to wear the scarlet
and gray. Couldn't you spare a few lines for a world class performance? Really,there are track fans
out here and although we have learned not to expect much in this area from your paper , this is
pretty sad!

— David Smith, Chillicothe

Ray: Some say football season is the best time of the year for the average sports fan and it
certainly is arguable. But pound for pound isn't mid-March through the NBA and NHL
playoffs right there for the all around sports fan?

From high school's version of March Madness to crowning an NBA champ the three months or so
from early March through mid June is a constant whirling dervish of exciting championship action
and big and classic events.

The average central Ohio sports nut has it all. Great high school action much of the titles
being determined in Columbus, basketball and wrestling championships at the Schott the hockey title
at Nationwide Arena. The Buckeyes basketball team is usually in the middle of the NCAA basketball
tourney and even in the off year they aren't what self respecting sports fan doesn't at least fill
out a bracket and watch the action?

Baseball fans look forward to the start of the season, and warmer weather. Golf fans come out
of hibernation on the course and volila the Masters shows up on your screen in all it's
sanctimony and chill inducing glory.

CBJ fans have been given an added bonus this year with meaningful games with actual playoff
implications and they are responding in kind.

The sports fanatic then has the start of the playoffs to look forward to along with a growing
American sports fan institution in the NFL draft which has grown from an underground following led
by an unknown guy in his Baltimore basement with a notable mane of hair to a full time business
which has made that shock of hair a guru and brought the draft into a multi day prime time affair.

Throw in the Kentucky Derby a mere three and a half hour drive from here for those who like
observing a little pomposity, fancy hats and imbibing a few mint juleps, the Indy 500 and the
Memorial day weekend, the US Open comes next ending with the crowning of champions in the NHL
and NBA. You then get a period of rest with the slowness of baseball taking hold before football's
sweaty season commences. Any arguments that this is the most wonderful time of the sports nut year?

— Mike Devine, Dublin

Editor: Forgot to send 3D glasses for the photographs on C6, C13, C15, and C17. Not.